Table shrine



Nov. 3, 1953 S. A. BROCKWAY TABLE SHRINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 3l, 1951 l mln!! It i W Ny! if INVENTOR Nov. 3, 1953 s. A. BRocKwAY 2,657,966

TABLE SHRINE Filed Aug. :51, 1951 2 sheets-sheet z yZQWf/zM/@Mwz f 9mm ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 3, 1953 UNI TED STATES PATENTv OFF I CE TABLE SHRINE Scott A. Brockway, Venice, Calif.V

Application August 31, 1951, Serial No.244,520

1 Claim.

This. inventionirelates 'tovfurnituregi'and more particularly, has reference :to an.l article, 'or furniture' formed in'`r the simulation 1 oil la building,

and adapted to serve as' a table'or desk;Y asi wellv not'found in the eld'of furniture, it being true' that in such instancesno'tonly does the unusual appearance of the furniture increase its basic appeal to' a purchaserybut also, the article of furniture is made usable as an educational aid, whereintheI child isenab'ledlto gain knowledge oi the object simulated.

To this end, itilis' animportantrcb'ject-of theV presentV invention .toiprovideV Van .article of fur-1 niture inthe nature fofla combined cabinet and writing desk, novelly formed to simulate faithfully abuilding such asy a church or temple.

It is another important object to incorporate, in said article of furniture,'features of construction whereby one7 ormore component parts thereof can be shifted or adjusted to diierent positions in a manner to change substantiallyfthe appearance vof the building simulated, thus to educate the child as to the construction. and appearance of more than one building.

Yet another object is to provide an article of furniture as stated that will'be capable of being manufactured at little' or no increase in cost abovethat which would be required for constructing a combined cabinet and desk not having the features mentioned.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational View of an article of furniture formed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view;

Figure 3 is a top plan view;

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken on line 4 4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a rear elevational view; and,

Figure '7 is a front elevational view, a portion of the article of furniture being shifted to simulate a building different from that illustrated in Figure l.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the article of furniture formed in accordance with the present invention includes a plurality of upstanding legs I, disposed at the several corners of said article, and formed to any desired ornamental coniiguration. At their upper ends, the legs I (Cl. 312---2040V are rigidly 1 connected? ini any. suitable mannerv rear wall/and a front wall 5 "secured at`A oppositeends to the frontedges of the sidewalls. The

iront-.wall' isi provided with a-draweropenin'g,

receiving a conventionally formed drawer generally designated E5, 4that slides intofand out of the base onguides-'I secured fto` the innerl surfacesot the parallel sidel wallsfll.' The drawer 6 is -pro'- vided with one-or more" drawer pulls; and may be used as a repository for anyl desired objecty or objects'.

The base includes' a fflat,'*horizont`ally disposed,"

rectangular top 'portion 8,-'Xedly `secured A to the side' and rear walls'ofvthe base,` and projectinga slight distance forwardly beyond the front wallv of the base, as readilyl seen fromFigure 4.

Extending upwardly from and.4 xedly secured to the rear edge of thestopportio'n 8 fis'theback wall 9 'of a-cabinet portion;- thi'sfbe'ing connected along its opposite" sideedg'es to the rear edges of vertically disposedside walls: I0 of thwcabinet portion, which are in'turn securedV along their front edges to a frontwalll I2 of the 'cabi-riet portion,l by meansI of tongue andfgroove connections as illustrated in Figure 5, or by any other means known to the art."

The front wallV I I- isfprovided-with alarg'e open'-A inglfprovi'ding access to' the-interior of the provided upon the door, for convenience in shift-Y ing the door to open and shut positions. In Figure 4, the door is illustrated in its closed position in full lines, but as will be noted from Figure 4, when the door is swung to its open position, it extends approximately horizontally, and is supportedly positioned upon the top portion 8 of the base, extending forwardly beyond the base to provide a desk member.

A horizontal partition I6 is mounted within the cabinet portion of the article of furniture, adjacent the upper end thereof, to provide an upper compartment in said cabinet portion. The upper compartment is closed at its top by a horizontally disposed top member I1 secured to the side and rear walls of the cabinet portion, and by an upwardly swinging lid I3, connected to the top member Il' by hinges I9. The lid I 8, when swung upwardly, provides access to the top compartment of the cabinet portion.

Medially located between opposite sides edges of the back wall 9 of the cabinet portion is an opening 20, said opening being spaced a short distance below the top of the cabinet portion, as best seen from Figure 4. A bolt 2| extends through the opening 20, and through an opening 22 registering with the opening 20, and formed in a back piece generally designated 23 the bolt 2l forming a horizontal axis. The opening 22 is formed intermediate opposite ends of the back piece 23, said back piece being disposed in a vertical plane and in sliding face to face contact with the exterior surface of the back wall 9. A wing nut 24 is threadable upon the bolt 2|, so as to clamp the back piece to the cabinet portion in selected positions to which the back piece is rotatably adjusted upon the bolt 2 I.

At opposite ends, the back piece 23 is formed in the simulation of the gable portions of a building. Thus, by reference to Figure 1, it may be noted that at one end, the back piece is in the simulation of the gable portion of a church including a Steeple, this end of the back piece being designated 25 and being opposite the end 26 of the back piece. In the present instance the end portion 26 of the back piece is formed in the simulation of the gable portion of a temple.

The gable simulations extend from locations adjacent the pivotal connection 2l, toward the opposite ends of the back piece, and are so formed upon the back piece as to cause one of the simulations to be wholly concealed by the rear wall 9 of the cabinet portion when the other simulation is being exposed above said cabinet portion. However, if it is desired that the particular gable portion that is concealed be substituted for that which is being exposed, it is merely necessary to loosen the wing nut 24, after which the back piece is swung through one-hundred eighty degrees, and the wing nut tightened once again.

On the outer surface of the door, there is painted or otherwise formed the simulation of building windows 21, and a building entrance 28.

These cooperate with the back piece to impart to the entire cabinet portion above the base the appearance of a building structure of a selected architectual design.

In this way, a valuable educational aid is ins corporated in the article of furniture. Obviously, the building simulated can be any particular building, including well known buildings of which the child should have knowledge. By incorporating the appearance of such a building in the article of furniture described, the child obtains intimate knowledge of the general appearance of the building. By reversing the back piece end for end, a different building is simulated, and thus, the child is enabled to gain knowledge of more than one building. At the same time, the

article of furniture has considerable utility, both as a cabinet and as a desk, and has in addition the desirable characteristics of being basically novel and attractive in appearance.

What is claimed is: K

An article of furniture including a base; a boxlike structure mounted upon the base to extend upwardly therefrom and having a back wall and an opening in the front wall thereof; a door providing access to the interior of the structure and hingedly mounted thereupon to swing into and out of position in said opening, said door when swung out of the opening being supportedly positioned upon the base to extend substantially horizontally and outwardly thereof to provide a desk member, the door being formed in the simulation of a building front to impart the appearance of a building to said structure in the closed position of the door; and an upstanding back piece arranged in face to face sliding contact with the back wall of said structure and pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the back wall of said structure for rotation about a horizontal axis between opposite positions onehundred eighty degrees apart, said ends of the back piece being respectively exposed in said opposite positions of the back piece above said structure and being formed to simulate gable portions o the building simulated upon the door.

SCOTT A. BROCKWAY.

References Cited in the file 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 326,526 Steers Sept. 15, 1885 470,337 Ransom Mar. 8, 1892 550,237 Alexander Nov. 26, 1895 561,462 Wheeler June 2, 1896 637,456 Goodale Nov. 21, 1899 2,290,577 StimSOn July 2l, 1942 2,470,993 Kramer May 24, 1949 

